Challenge of being Tulane's football coach proved to be too much for Bob Toledo

“Tulane University Director of Athletics Rick Dickson announced today that Bob Toledo has resigned as head football coach of the Green Wave, effective immediately.’’

Hereabouts, I’m guessing Tuesday’s news bulletin was met with a shrug of the shoulders.

Another Tulane football coach walks the plank.

Another ho-hum.

Tulane football? What is that?

Let me explain.

Without Tulane football, there would be no Sugar Bowl, there would be no Saints, there would be no games called “Super Bowls,’’ and there would be no building the recently christened “Mercedes-Benz Superdome.”

Thanks to Tulane football, there was a 25,000-seat Tulane Stadium waiting to launch an inaugural Sugar Bowl between Tulane and Temple on New Year’s Day, 1935.

Thanks to Tulane football, there was an 80,000-seat Tulane Stadium ready to welcome an NFL franchise, awarded to the Big Easy on All Saints Day, Nov. 1, 1966.

And, thanks to the NFL and Dave Dixon’s campaigning, there would be a Superdome for Super Bowls.

Tulane football.

“Man, you’ve got a lot of tradition here,’’ said 60-year-old Bob Toledo on signing to take on the Tulane job before the 2007 season. “I’ll be coaching at a school that had two legends, Clark Shaughnessy and Bernie Bierman. To me, growing up out West, Tulane meant football. I can’t wait to get going.’’

Tulane came calling on someone with 30 years of collegiate coaching experience, someone who took UCLA within a whisker of a national championship game, a stretch during which the Bruins put together a 20-game winning streak and won two Pac-10 championships.

At age 60, what made the Tulane job appealing?

“Three things,” he said. “The challenge, the challenge, the challenge.”

Toledo felt he had some idea about the “challenge” he was taking on. He was succeeding Chris Scelfo, whose eight years at Tulane (two winning seasons) was the longest since Andy Pilney was fired in 1961 after eight years (one winning season).

In between, no Tulane coach had lasted longer than five years.

But there were all kinds of stories.

Vince Gibson will be remembered less for having two winning seasons than beating LSU twice in three tries.

Mack Brown, who coaches the Texas Longhorns, would look back on three years of apprenticeship at Tulane and records of 1-10, 4-7, 6-6.

Larry Smith took baby steps, going from 2-9, 3-8, 4-7, then into a launching-pad 9-3 and on to better things.

No one’s timing was better than Tommy Bowden. He followed five seasons of Buddy Teevens (2-9, 4-8, 1-10, 2-9, 2-9) and inherited assistant Rich Rodriguez and a wealth of talent Rodriguez had recruited. Bowden’s pit stop was classic. He went 7-4 and 12-0, then head for Clemson and a healthy contract.

So what about Toledo?

Given Tulane “circumstances,” I think Toledo was a good hire. But I also feel he was someone who lost his way, who, understandably, wanted to stay on to coach his last three recruiting classes he felt had “youth and promise.”

The big question: Did he get the most out of the youth that was carved up by Tulsa (31-3), then by Army (45-6) and Duke (48-27), before losing 44-7 to UTEP?

Obviously, he did not come close.

After the loss to Army, the environment became “toxic.”

So, yes, it was time for a change.

Into whose hands? A young assistant? A “proven” head coach?

You’ll have plenty of choices.

For the rest of the season, maybe more, Tulane will be in the hands of Mark Hutson, who Toledo brought in as his offensive line coach, who is into his second-go-round as interim coach.

Hutson was a two-time All-America selection at Oklahoma, captain of the 1985 national champions, a member of Oklahoma’s All-Century team.

As a player, Hutson has rubbed shoulders with the best.

As a head coach, for the next six games, he’ll have a chance to answer such questions: Honestly, how good are the players you’re coaching? Why can’t Tulane be as competitive as SMU? As Rice?

As a former coach who made $450,000 a year, Toledo will be living in happy retirement.

And, as predicted, he’ll be remembering Tulane for three things: The challenge, the challenge, the challenge.

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Peter Finney can be reached at pfinney@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3802.